Welcome to the new Frontiersman

The big day is here.

For weeks on end we’ve been promising ‘It’s going to be huuuugggee!’ but many of you right now are probably holding the new Frontiersman thinking — “Wait, the pages are smaller.”

That may be true, technically, but not by much. In newsprint talk, we’ve moved from what’s known as ‘broadsheet’ to a ‘tall tab.’ Making the switch allows us more color capability.

In our new format, at least 16 pages of each edition has color capacity. That means more color pictures, taken both by our staff and by our readers, in each issue of the Frontiersman, as well as the ability to print classified and obituary photos in color.

Not only is the new Frontiersman more colorful, it’s also easier to carry around and more convenient to read, don’t you think?

That’s huge, but it’s not what’s huuuuuge about today’s launch.

Starting today, we are more than TRIPLING our circulation to reach upwards of 10,000 households in the Mat-Su Valley.

Again, not to bore you with too much shoptalk, but this is what’s known in newspaper circulation circles as a ‘blended model.’ It allows us to reach many more of the massive Mat-Su Borough’s, an expanse usually likened to that of West Virginia, and now home to more than 103,000 Alaskans.

That’s huuuuge, but what’s really huuuuuuuuuuuge, is the effort we’re putting forward to expand our audience.

It’s one thing to print and distribute more papers. It’s quite another to make all those people want those papers. To accomplish that, we’re going beyond the standard, stale fare most community newspapers give their readers — readers which most of them have long-since taken for granted.

In the new Frontiersman, look for not just more color, but bolder color, with bolder and more colorful stories. Look for enhanced, consistent coverage of business, agriculture, health and local entertainment, complete with an improved breakdown of weekend events in every Friday edition.

Today’s maiden launch is just a preview of what’s to come.

We aspire to make the new Frontiersman not just something you ‘take,’ like a requirement of civic responsibility, or a prescribed medication, but something that you ‘want,’ and look forward to — as something that might make you feel energized, informed, invested and involved in your community.

Together, we can make the Mat-Su Valley a place we’re all a little prouder of — a place where people care what happens, a place where people feel free to express their opinions, can lean on each other for support and discover all there is to do in this beautiful pocket of The Last Frontier.